PEOPLE v. PADILLA (2023)

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Ralph Fabrizio, J.), entered on or about April 20, 2020, which adjudicated defendant a level two sex offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act (Correction Law art 6–c), unanimously affirmed, without costs.

The court providently exercised its discretion when it declined to grant a downward departure (see People v. Gillotti, 23 N.Y.3d 841, 994 N.Y.S.2d 1, 18 N.E.3d 701 [2014]).  The mitigating factors cited by defendant, including his unexceptional response to a treatment program that he did not complete, were adequately taken into account by the risk assessment instrument, or were not shown to reduce defendant's individual risk of reoffense (see People v. Ortega, 209 A.D.3d 540, 540, 175 N.Y.S.3d 212 [1st Dept. 2022], lv denied 39 N.Y.3d 908, 2023 WL 1975895 [2023]).  In any event, these mitigating factors were outweighed by aggravating factors, including defendant's criminal history and the seriousness of the underlying crime, in which he sexually exploited a child over a period of years.